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German dialects are the various traditional local varieties of the German language. Though varied by region, those of the southern half of Germany beneath the Benrath line are dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects German to the neighboring varieties of Low Franconian (Dutch) and Frisian.
The varieties of German are conventionally grouped into Upper German, Central German and Low German; Upper and Central German form the High German subgroup. Standard German is a standardized form of High German, developed in the early modern period based on a combination of Central German and Upper German varieties.
Traditionally, all of the major dialect groupings of German dialects are typically named after so-called "stem duchies" or "tribal duchies" (German: Stammesherzogtümer) by early German linguists, among whom the Brothers Grimm were especially influential. These tribal duchies came into existence at the end of the Early Middle Ages within the Holy Roman Empire and were thought to have been continuations of earlier tribal lands which were subjugated by the Franks and incorporated into their realm at the close of the Migration Period. [3]
For example, the Germanic tribe of the Bavarii (subjugated by the Franks during the 6th century) gave their name to the later stem duchy of Bavaria (817–1180), which itself would lend its name to the traditional Bavarian dialect grouping described in the early 19th century. [4]
As their understanding of the Second Germanic consonant shift progressed, linguists (when applicable) further divided these dialects into groupings based on their degree of participation of this consonant shift, with "Low" (German: nieder-) signifying little to no participation, "Middle" (or "Central"; German: mittel-) meaning medium to high participation and "Upper" (German: ober-) conveying high to full participation.
Because the 19th-century classification nomenclature was based primarily on historical territories rather than linguistic clusters, the traditional system can imply greater similarities between dialects than is linguistically warranted. The best-known example of this phenomenon is found within the Franconian cluster, which is divided into Low Franconian, Middle Franconian and Upper Franconian even though the Low Franconian (incl. Dutch) dialects are not most closely related to Middle and Upper Franconian dialects within the larger continuum. In fact, of all German dialects, the Low Rhenish dialect (the only Low Franconian dialect spoken in Germany itself) is the most divergent when compared to Standard German, whereas the Middle and Upper Franconian dialects are fairly similar in their overall structure and phonology to the German standard language.
As a result, the second half of the 20th century saw a shift in academic customs, with many linguists instead describing dialect clusters based on the geographical area in which they are spoken (i.e. Meuse-Rhenish or Westphalian) and their degree of participation with the Second Germanic consonant shift, or, such as in the case of the influential linguists Friedrich Maurer and Theodor Frings, creating a new framework of dialect classification altogether.
Nevertheless, in common parlance it is common for speakers of German dialects to use the traditional/older nomenclature when referring to their particular dialect, stating, for example, that they speak Saxon, Bavarian, Allemanic (Swabian), Thuringian or Franconian.
In linguistics of German, German dialects are distinguished from varieties of Standard German.
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The variation among German dialects ranges. In regions with dialects are being in the same dialectal region, pronunciation, syntax and words particular to specific towns even only a few miles apart can create even more variation. In the Black Forest region alone, there was a newspaper request for people to report what word they used for the term "Dragonfly." Sixty words were collected as reported from responders for the term. [5]
When spoken in their purest form, Low German, most Upper German, High Franconian dialects and even some Central German dialects are unintelligible to those versed only in Standard German. However, all German dialects belong to the dialect continuum of High German and Low German. In the past (roughly until the end of World War II), there was a dialect continuum of all Continental West Germanic languages, as nearly any pair of contiguous dialects were perfectly mutually intelligible.
The German dialect continuum is typically divided into High German and Low German. The terms derive from the geographic characteristics of the terrain in which each is found rather than depicting social status.
As the result of the flight and expulsion of Germans following World War II, particularly from post-war Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Yugoslavia (Danube Swabians), [6] the territorial extent of German was considerably reduced. Significant dialects such as the East Pomeranian dialect, most varieties of Silesian German, Prussian dialects and Bohemian German dialects gradually disappeared as a result of their speakers assimilating into areas where other dialects, as well as Standard German, were already spoken. [7]
Low German varieties (in Germany usually referred to as "Platt" or "Plattdeutsch") are considered dialects of the German language by some but a separate language by others (then often termed "Low Saxon"). Linguistically Low German (that is, Ingvaeonic ("North Sea Germanic") and Low Franconian (that is, some Istvaeonic) dialects are grouped together because both did not participate in the High German consonant shift. Low German is further divided into Dutch Low Saxon, West Low German and East Low German.
Middle Low German was the lingua franca of the Hanseatic League. [8] It was the predominant language in Northern Germany, and several translations of the Bible were printed in Low German. That predominance changed in the 16th century. In 1534, the Luther Bible was printed by Martin Luther, and that translation is considered to be an important step towards the evolution of the Early New High German. It aimed to be understandable to an ample audience and was based mainly on High German varieties. Early New High German gained more prestige than Low Saxon [9] and became the language of science and literature. Other factors included the Hanseatic League losing its importance around the same time (as new trade routes to Asia and the Americas were established) and the most powerful German states then being located in Middle and Southern Germany.
The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by mass education, with the language of the schools being Standard German. [10] [11]
Today, Low Saxon dialects are still widespread, especially among the elderly in the Northern parts of Germany. [12] Some local media take care not to let the Low Saxon language die out, so there are several newspapers that have recurring articles in Low Saxon. The North German Broadcasting (Norddeutscher Rundfunk) also offers television programs, such as "Talk op Platt" and radio programs in Low Saxon.
On the other hand, Northern Germany is considered to be the region that speaks the purest Standard German, and in everyday life, little influence of dialect is heard. Still, there are notable differences in pronunciation, even among North German speakers such as the lengthening of vowels and differences in accentuation. There are also some North German expressions that are in use even in Standard High German but are seldom heard in Southern Germany, such as "plietsch" for "intelligent".
High German is divided into Central German, High Franconian and Upper German.
Central German dialects include Ripuarian, Moselle Franconian, Rhine Franconian (incl. Hessian), Lorraine Franconian, Thuringian, Silesian, High Prussian, Lusatian dialects and Upper Saxon. They are spoken in the southeastern Netherlands, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg, parts of northeastern France and in Germany approximately between the River Main and the southern edge of the Lowlands.
High Franconian dialects are transitional dialects in between the two greater High German groups. High Franconian dialects include East Franconian and South Franconian.
Upper German dialects include Alemannic in the broad sense (incl. Alsatian, Swabian) and Bavarian (Southern Bavarian, Central Bavarian and Northern Bavarian) and are spoken in parts of northeastern France, southern Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, and in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland and Italy.
Standard High German is based on Central and Upper German.
The Moselle Franconian varieties spoken in Luxembourg have been officially standardized and institutionalized and so are usually considered a separate language, known as Luxembourgish.
Halcnovian, Wymysorys, Sathmarisch and Transylvanian Saxon are High German dialects of Poland and Romania.
The High German varieties spoken by Ashkenazi Jews (mostly in Tsarist Russia, then the former Soviet Union and Poland) have several unique features and are usually considered as a separate language. Known as Yiddish, it is the only Germanic language that does not (only) use the Latin script as its standard script. Since it developed in the Danube area, there are some similarities with the Central and Upper German dialects of that region.
The dialects of German that are or were spoken primarily in colonies or communities founded by German-speakers resemble the dialects of the regions of the founders. For example, Pennsylvania German and Volga German resemble dialects of the Baden-Württemberg, Hutterite German resembles dialects of Carinthia and Venezuelan Alemán Coloniero is a Low Alemannic variant.
Standard German | Hunsrik/Hunsrückisch | Low German & Plautdietsch | Pennsylvania Dutch | Hutterite | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Argentina | 400,000 | — | 4,000 | — | — |
Australia | 79,000 | — | — | — | — |
Belize | — | — | 9,360 | — | — |
Bolivia | 160,000 | — | 60,000 | — | — |
Brazil | 1,500,000 | 3,000,000 | 8,000 | — | — |
Canada | 430,000 | — | 80,000 | 15,000 | 23,200 |
Chile | 35,000 | — | — | — | — |
Costa Rica | — | — | 2,000 | — | — |
Israel | 200,000 | — | — | — | — |
Kazakhstan | 30,400 | — | 100,000 | — | — |
Mexico | — | — | 40,000 | — | — |
Namibia | 22,500 | — | — | — | — |
New Zealand | 36,000 | — | — | — | — |
Paraguay | 166,000 | — | 40,000 | — | — |
Peru | 2,000 | — | 5,000 | — | — |
Russia | — | — | — | — | — |
South Africa | 12,000 | — | — | — | — |
Uruguay | 28,000 | — | 2,000 | — | — |
United States | 1,104,354 [13] | — | 12,000 | 118,000 | 10,800 |
Sum | 4,599,392 | 3,000,000 | 362,360 | 133,000 | 34,000 |
Amana German is a dialect of West Central German. It is spoken in the Amana Colonies in Iowa, which were founded by Inspirationalists of German origin. Amana is derived from Hessian, another West Central German dialect. Amana German is called Kolonie-Deutsch in Standard German.
In Brazil, the largest concentrations of German speakers, German Brazilians, are in Rio Grande do Sul, where Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, and Brazilian Pomeranian were developed, especially in the areas of Santa Catarina, Paraná, Rondônia, and Espírito Santo, as well as in Petrópolis (Rio de Janeiro).
Lagunen-Deutsch is a variety of High German spoken in Chile.
Most speakers of Lagunen-Deutsch live around Lake Llanquihue. Lagunen-Deutsch has integrated elements of Spanish. This includes the integration of false cognates with the Spanish language, transferring the Spanish meanings into Lagunen-Deutsch.
The geographical origin of most or all speakers of Lagunen-Deutsch is Chile, to where the ancestors of the speakers immigrated from German-speaking areas of Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The impact of nineteenth century German immigration to southern Chile was such that Valdivia was for a while a Spanish-German bilingual city with "German signboards and placards alongside the Spanish". [14] The prestige [15] the German language had made it acquire qualities of a superstratum in southern Chile. [16]
The Colonia Tovar dialect, or Alemán Coloniero, is a dialect spoken in Colonia Tovar, Venezuela, that belongs to the Low Alemannic branch of German. The dialect, like other Alemannic dialects, is not mutually intelligible with Standard German. It is spoken by descendants of Germans from the Black Forest region of southern Baden, who emigrated to Venezuela in 1843. The dialect has also acquired some Spanish loanwords.[ citation needed ]
Currently 1.1 million American citizens speak German, with the most being in the Dakotas. [17] German was at one time the lingua franca in many American regions, with high density in the Midwest, but St. Louis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York City and a great many others cities had a very high German-speaking population. By 1900, over 554 Standard German-language newspapers were in circulation.
The rise in American ethnic nativist pride, especially during World War I, led to a zealous push for the Americanization of hyphenated Americans to reclaim the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant hegemonic influence once again, as the surges of immigration had forever changed the dynamic nation. All things and individuals with ties to Germany were thus subjected to public harassment, distrust, or even death, such as in the lynching of Robert Prager, a German seeking to become naturalized [18] in St. Louis.
German is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the most spoken native language within the European Union. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol. It is also an official language of Luxembourg, Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as a recognized national language in Namibia. There are also notable German-speaking communities in France (Alsace), the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Denmark, Romania and Hungary (Sopron). Overseas, sizeable communities of German-speakers are found in Brazil, South Africa (Kroondal), Namibia, among others, some communities have decidedly Austrian German or Swiss German characters.
The High German languages, or simply High German – not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called "High German" – comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and Uerdingen isoglosses in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and eastern Belgium, as well as in neighbouring portions of France, Italy, the Czech Republic (Bohemia), and Poland. They are also spoken in diasporas in Romania, Russia, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Namibia.
In historical and comparative linguistics, Low Franconian is a linguistic category used to classify a number of historical and contemporary West Germanic varieties closely related to, and including, the Dutch language. Most dialects and languages included within this category are spoken in the Netherlands, northern Belgium (Flanders), in the Nord department of France, in western Germany, as well as in Suriname, South Africa and Namibia.
Bavarian, alternately Austro-Bavarian, is a major group of Upper German varieties spoken in the south-east of the German language area, including the German state of Bavaria, most of Austria and the Italian region of South Tyrol. Prior to 1945, Bavarian was also prevalent in parts of the southern Sudetenland and western Hungary. Bavarian is spoken by approximately 12 million people in an area of around 125,000 square kilometres (48,000 sq mi), making it the largest of all German dialects. In 2008, 45 percent of Bavarians claimed to use only dialect in everyday communication.
The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic family of languages. The West Germanic branch is classically subdivided into three branches: Ingvaeonic, which includes English, the Low German languages, and the Frisian languages; Istvaeonic, which encompasses Dutch and its close relatives; and Irminonic, which includes German and its close relatives and variants.
Swabian is one of the dialect groups of Upper German, sometimes one of the dialect groups of Alemannic German, that belong to the High German dialect continuum. It is mainly spoken in Swabia, which is located in central and southeastern Baden-Württemberg and the southwest of Bavaria. Furthermore, Swabian German dialects are spoken by Caucasus Germans in Transcaucasia. The dialects of the Danube Swabian population of Hungary, the former Yugoslavia and Romania are only nominally Swabian and can be traced back not only to Swabian but also to Franconian, Bavarian and Hessian dialects, with locally varying degrees of influence of the initial dialects.
Middle High German is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High German is defined as those varieties of German which were affected by the Second Sound Shift; the Middle Low German and Middle Dutch languages spoken to the North and North West, which did not participate in this sound change, are not part of MHG.
Early New High German (ENHG) is a term for the period in the history of the German language generally defined, following Wilhelm Scherer, as the period 1350 to 1650, developing from Middle High German and into New High German.
Alemannic, or rarely Alemannish, is a group of High German dialects. The name derives from the ancient Germanic tribal confederation known as the Alemanni.
Frankish, also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 9th century.
A stem duchy was a constituent duchy of the Kingdom of Germany at the time of the extinction of the Carolingian dynasty and through the transitional period leading to the formation of the Ottonian Empire. The Carolingians had dissolved the original tribal duchies of the Empire in the 8th century. As the Carolingian Empire declined, the old tribal areas assumed new identities. The five stem duchies were Bavaria, Franconia, Lotharingia (Lorraine), Saxony and Swabia (Alemannia). The Salian emperors retained the stem duchies as the major divisions of Germany, but the stem duchies became increasingly obsolete during the early high-medieval period under the Hohenstaufen, and Frederick Barbarossa finally abolished them in 1180 in favour of more numerous territorial duchies.
In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or second Germanic consonant shift is a phonological development that took place in the southern parts of the West Germanic dialect continuum. The shift is used to distinguish High German from other continental West Germanic languages, namely Low Franconian and Low German, which experienced no shift. The shift resulted in the affrication or spirantization of the West Germanic voiceless stop consonants /t/, /p/, and /k/, depending on position in a word. A related change, the devoicing of the voiced stopped consonants /d/, /b/ and /g/, was less widespread, with only the devoicing of /d/ being found in most dialects.
The appearance of the German language begins in the Early Middle Ages with the High German consonant shift. Old High German, Middle High German, and Early New High German span the duration of the Holy Roman Empire. The 19th and 20th centuries saw the rise of Standard German and a decrease of dialectal variety.
Franconian or Frankish is a collective term traditionally used by linguists to refer to many West Germanic languages, some of which are spoken in what formed the historical core area of Francia during the Early Middle Ages.
In linguistics, Old Dutch or Old Low Franconian is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th or 9th to the 12th century. Old Dutch is mostly recorded on fragmentary relics, and words have been reconstructed from Middle Dutch and Old Dutch loanwords in French.
In historical linguistics, the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law is a description of a phonological development that occurred in the Ingvaeonic dialects of the West Germanic languages. This includes Old English, Old Frisian, and Old Saxon, and to a lesser degree Old Dutch.
Upper German is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in the southern German-speaking area.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to German language:
Language Use: Officially recognized as a regional (separate) language in 8 states of Germany. Recognized as a regional (separate) language by the European Charter on Languages. Adults only. Shifting to Standard German [deu]. Used as L2 by Northern Frisian [frr].
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